welcome
 
 
Some Reflections on How I Work
 
Consulting with a therapist can be helpful in a number of situations: when we find ourselves not enjoying life deeply or meaningfully; when we bump into barriers, unable to follow through with things that are good for us; when we get into repetitive, unhappy ways of relating to other people, certain situations, or difficult emotions. These various forms of mild or severe discontent can be understood as helpful, hopeful signals that we need and want something different in life, something more. They can be used to guide us.
 
Holism: Since many aspects of life affect us, I work in a holistic, inter-disciplinary way that honors the various levels of our being (genetic, biochemical, medical-dental, intra-psychic, inter-personal, family, cultural, political-economic, spiritual.), and actively network with other specialist practitioners as appropriate. 
 
Levels: There are also a number of levels of intervention that we might engage in together. Sometimes simple care is called for in relation to basic life issues such as grief, or transitions. Other times counseling in terms of psycho-educational techniques, teachings, problem solving, and resource development are appropriate.
 
Psychotherapy is helpful when we realize that there are deep parts of us affecting our lives that are below the level of our best understanding, intention, and willpower. Sometimes we realize that the stories we live and tell become variations on the same basic themes we have a tough time transcending. Or, perhaps we notice that the part of us that wants to quit sugar, nicotine, being angry, or procrastinating is not the part of us that reaches for the muffin or cigarette, yells at our spouse, or stays up late to get the report in.
 
Hope: Over many years of practicing, learning, teaching, training, and searching for optimally effective methods in psychotherapy, I have been fortunate to discover some graceful and powerful ways of working with these predicaments we all encounter that I am happy to offer. 
 
States of consciousness: Since we all try to consciously figure out what we are experiencing, and only get so far in changing ourselves, it is necessary to do something more. To get to the deeper levels we need to change our state of consciousness. While this shift is somewhat rare, it is not mysterious. It means we simply need to loosen our ideas about what we think we already know, have some humility, and become more open, receptive, and curious--more contemplative or mindful--as we gracefully turn our awareness toward how we are precisely experiencing our lives in the immediacy of the moment.
 
Self study and organization: When we slow down, and become receptive to studying ourselves in this way, we often discover how we organize ourselves to react and relate to situations in highly automatic and predictable ways. We become aware of various parts of ourselves that always jump in to be scared, to control, to run or fight, or do any number of things. 
 
Many roads lead home: We also discover that how we organize ourselves to creatively experience and express ourselves in life is reflected in the totality of our lives; in our sensations, muscle tensions, and posture, as well as our thoughts, feelings, dreams, and ways of relating. The good news is that any of these aspects can serve as pathways for discovering the deeper levels of organization that make sense of what we experience in ordinary everyday consciousness. When the path leads home to the core organizing beliefs forming our central stories, the specific grace needed for healing becomes more obvious and available. Transformation in terms of deeply held, long-term patterns loosening and changing becomes possible.
 
Safety: This kind of in-depth exploration using our reflective awareness or the witnessing aspect of our consciousness is only possible when we feel safe. In addition to the physical space and the person of the therapist being safe, the process requires exquisite acceptance of and attention to whatever fears, anxieties, or hesitations are present. The work proceeds gracefully, honoring, respecting, and non-violently support-ing the wisdom of the multiplicity of parts that make up our inner ecology, assuming they all have a benevolent in-tent, regardless of how harsh or destructive they might at first appear. 
 
Collaboration: The work also proceeds collaboratively where nothing is ever done without your full awareness, participation, and assent. When loving presence is maintained collaboratively by client and therapist alike, the process often assumes a spontaneous, live quality that unfolds effortlessly.
 
Essential Self or Soul: A central aspect of healing and/or growing in grace is employing the witnessing aspect of our consciousness that can slow down the routine or habitual ways we react and relate, befriend them, and take them under observation in a curious, non-judgmental way. Since we can become aware of our thoughts, feelings, and sensations we obvious are more than them. Additional good news is that our larger Self that can witness the various parts of ourselves can also bring great wisdom and compassion to bear in the service of healing, sustaining, and providing leadership for the many members of our internal world. This is true, regardless of what trauma or neglect we might have gone through in our life to this point.
 
Empowerment: When the essential qual-ities of our larger Self such as grace, love, calm, and understanding are accessed and employed, connections are often made to spiritual traditions that might be a significant part of our lives, or perhaps more of a curios-ity. A fundamental goal of healing in this way is for therapists to work themselves out of a job by helping persons become more grounded, centered, and empowered through increasingly leading with their Selves or Souls, as opposed to being at the reactive mercy of continually activated parts. This is possible for nearly everyone, and not just long-time students of particular traditions and practices.
 
Principles: The principles of this type of healing apply to every level of our systems from the intra-psychic to the inter-personal, and organizational relations as well.
 
More specifics about this way of working can be found in the writings about Hakomi Therapy by Ron Kurtz, myself, and others, as well as the materials on Internal Family Systems (or IFS) by Richard C. Schwartz and others. These methods integrate the best of other fine therapies that have gone before them, or emerged around them. I personally use them all in the overall framework outlined through the many writings of Ken Wilber and members of the Integral Institute.
 
     --Greg Johanson
 
 


 website design gregjohanson.net Copyright © 2011  Hakomi Educational Resources